Chapter 6: Edward's POV

Watching her make the short trip from my door to hers was a difficult task. As soon as she was out of sight, I ran back to my living-room and did a happy dance. She's willing to try, letting me and my family into her life and her heart! I tried not to let myself get carried away. I tried to keep cool…but I had to call Mom and Ness! I grabbed the phone and dialed. Once I heard my mom say 'hello', I asked about my baby girl. "Hey, Mom, how's Ness?"

Mom replied, "Our little Renesmee will be just fine…as long as you don't go off into la-la land like you did earlier. You really freaked her out."

"I promise, Mom, I won't scare her like that again." I told her.

"Good; I'm glad. Now, how did it go with Bella?" She asked. "I'm dying to get the scoop so I can tell your sister!"

I rolled my eyes and told her how Bella opened up to me about her troubles, but I left out the messy details. "She's amazing, Mom; she's a writer and a Pampered Chef consultant. Her dad's sick and her mother left when she and Emmett were young… between Bella and her brother there's a string of heartaches in their lives. She has some abandonment issues and I don't know how it's going to work, but we're going to try. Isn't that fantastic?" I said.

"I'm so happy for you, Edward! I'm glad Bella's going to give this a shot. She'll be so happy when she figures out that we're all here for her." Mom said. "Has she met the other neighbors yet?"

"Uhmmm, only a few; she met James and Vicki the other day, and Ben dropped off our lunch this afternoon." I told her. "I'll have the BBQ as a welcome party for Bella instead of using it to chase away all the single ladies."

I could almost hear Mom's grin spread across her face. "You know, son, if you're lucky…Bella will chase away all those tramps."

I chuckled. "I'll cross my fingers, Mom, but I'm not going to hold my breath. I'll come get Nessie tomorrow around noon and bring some stuff from the deli."

"Oh, honey, about that, Ness asked Ali to get you some new clothes. Apparently, she thinks your wardrobe needs an update. So we want you to go through your stuff and get the oldest shirts and pants together to go to the local clothing drive. When you join us, you'll be trying on a few items, ok?" She said matter-of-factly.

I couldn't believe Nessie would sell me out like that, just because I didn't dress appropriately for one date…and that wasn't even supposed to be a date!

I agreed and Sunday came and went with me providing lunch while getting rid of the…to quote my daughter… 'old, fuddy-duds' and bringing home more clothing than I could possibly wear in the next whole decade.

When I got her alone we had a little chat about what had happened on Saturday. Nessie wanted to know what my brain was going through that I couldn't hear her talking to me and respond properly. I had to tell her about my intense feelings for her mother and try to explain that feelings like those don't generally happen over just a few days, so when I felt them for Bella it threw me for a loop. Then she asked about love at first sight and I was forced to tell her how rare that was. She seemed a little disappointed by that, but she got over it quickly enough when I told her that she and I would be joining Bella for dinner on Tuesday night. While I was putting Ness to bed, Maria called and asked if I'd mind if we switched the schedule for Monday. That meant I'd be taking the girls to school instead of picking them up. I told her that was fine.

Now its Monday I've just dropped Ness and Annie off for the day. I wonder what Bella's up to… I dial her number on my cell phone and wait.

"Hello?" Her lovely voice answers.

"Hi, Bella… It's, err, Edward…I've kinda been thinking about you a lot the past few days and I just wondered what you were doing today." I reply.

"Oh, uhm, that's sweet…Today's one of the days I see my dad and I just got here so I should be home by 2 if you'd like to sit and talk." Bella offers. "I also have some computer work to do tonight, though, so our visit will have to be short."

"Oh…ok, I guess I'll see you at 2 then." I say.

"I'll look forward to it, Edward." She whispers before hanging up.

I shut my phone with a big smile and drive away from the school. With nothing else to do, I go home and start doing some house-work, laundry and vacuuming. Then I check the answering machine and find out that Alice has planned the BBQ for a month from tomorrow and needs a list of people who will be invited. So I jump on the computer and shoot that off in an e-mail to her. By this time, the clothes are ready to be folded, so I turn on my I-pod and for some reason Taylor Swift's new song, 'Mine', blares out of the speakers.

*Great!* I think to myself. *Nessie must have mine, because this is not on my play-list! It's a good thing my I-pod has kid friendly music on it! I hate the songs that have raunchy lyrics and talk about sex every other word!* After shutting that off, I turn on CMT (the country music television channel) and listen to that while doing the rest of the chores.

Looking at the clock, I notice that I have less than an hour until it's time to meet Bella. I want to look and smell nice for her, so I decide to shower. I shave, shampoo, and even indulge in using my Axe body-wash. Throwing a towel around my waist, I start to go to my bedroom but then I hear the doorbell ring.

*Who could that be?* I ask myself thinking it maybe UPS or some other type of delivery. Opening the door I see…Bella. "Oh, gosh, Bella I'm so sorry. I'm almost done and…" I trail off seeing her expression as she stares at me. She seems sad…like she wants to cry, but I also sense a slight amusement, so I try to keep the mood light. "Like what you see?" I ask, motioning for her to come in.

She smirks, running her eyes over my bare torso. "Who wouldn't?"

"Well, let me go get a little less comfortable. You look like you need to talk." I reply. "Have a seat in the living-room or the kitchen. I'll join you in a moment."

Bella thanks me but as she passes me in the hallway, the button of her pants hooks a rip in my towel and pulls it off of me. My eyes widen as I grab for the curtain and quickly cover myself.

Bella scrambles to give me back my towel with one hand and covers her eyes with the other hand. "Oh, God…! I'm so sorry, Edward!"

I laughingly tie the towel back into place and run up the hall to my room, yelling, "It's really not your fault, Bella, but don't worry, I forgive easily!"

Once I'm done getting my pants and shirt on…that's right, I go commando… I pour us both some iced tea and we talk about our days. I tell her about the BBQ and ask if she's free.

"I got a call from your sister, this morning…so, yes I'm free. Thanks, by the way… I never expected such a warm welcome from my neighbors." She confides.

"Well, we're all a really friendly bunch of people. So, how did the visit with your dad go?" I ask. "Was today the 'once in a month' or part of the rest of the time?" When her lip starts to tremble, I just react and reach out to hold her hand. "Bella, talk to me…Please?"

"He didn't remember…not today…." She says in a whisper.

"When do you go back?" I ask.

"Tomorrow…" She says as she squeezes my hand.

"Maybe he'll remember you then… There's always hope." I say gently lifting her hand to my lips.

She glances down and notices the time on her watch. "What time does Nessie get home from school?"

"…Around 3 pm…Why…?" I ask.

"Well, it's 2:50. Do you want to take this onto the porch?" She says, motioning to our untouched glasses of iced tea. "I'd love to see Nessie before I go home and get to work."

I smile. "Sure, Bella, let's sit outside."

She picks up her glass and sits to one side of the love-seat sized resin chair, so I sit on the other. For about a minute, we just sit and sip our drinks…but then I get the urge to feel the warmth of her hand in mine, so I move just a little closer to her and now our hands are touching. I look at her face and she's watching me; I pick up her hand and hold it firmly in mine. Somehow the shift in our relationship has gotten us to this point and I feel like we're in a scene from an old time movie. We're drinking iced tea and holding hands on the porch while waiting for Nessie to come home from school.

This is going to be great; she hasn't seen Bella since Saturday and can't wait for tomorrow when we'll have dinner together. Maria suddenly pulls up and I know how this will go. I'll have to introduce her and Annie to Bella. Nessie looks excited as she and Annie get out of the back seat. Maria gets out of the driver's seat and they all walk toward us.

Maria is wearing a mini-dress with a deep V-neckline and lots of makeup.

I cringe, hoping nobody will notice, but Bella seems amused. "Hi, girls…Hello, Maria, how are things?" I ask, not letting go of Bella's hand.

"Oh, everything is just peachy, Eddie! Who's this?" She replies disdainfully looking Bella up and down.

To her credit, after greeting my daughter and Annie, Bella stands and holds out her hand. "Hi, I'm Bella Swan; I live next door; it's nice to meet you."

"Maria Guardia…charmed…" She says, barely touching Bella's hand. "So, Eddie, Alice called and told me all about the BBQ, next month! I'm so excited." She touches my arm and gushes at me.

I shrug her hand off of me. "I'm glad. She's going to a lot of trouble to make Bella feel welcome in the neighborhood. I'm glad you'll be there." I say making an effort at bringing Bella into the focus.

Maria frowns.

Bella just smiles. "Edward, I'm glad we got to talk today. It's been nice, but I've got some things to do at home. I'll see you and Nessie tomorrow night at 6:30. Okay?"

I smile and take her hand again. Kissing it, I say, "Ok, Bella…6:30 is perfect." Then I watch Bella blush and tweak Nessie's braided hair as she makes her way to her own home.

Maria huffs and calls for her daughter to get in the car.

Nessie seems to be struggling to keep a straight face but as soon as Maria's car is out of sight, she bursts into a fit of giggles. "I think Mrs. Guardia had some silly idea that, if you ever decided to date or marry again, you'd think of her first because Annie and I are such good friends. Her bubble just got busted!"

I laugh with her. "You know why I don't think of Maria like that, don't you, Ness?"

"Yeah…she dresses like a tramp and wears way too much make-up." She deadpans.

I laugh out loud. "That's part of the reason, yes… but it's also in the way she acts. Did you see how she treated Bella?"

"Yeah, that wasn't nice. The way she looked at her was kinda creepy."

"Yes…and when I wasn't paying attention to her, she walked away in a huff." I explain to her that it's not an acceptable response to not getting your own way. "Now, what do you want for dinner, sweetie?" We decide on some lasagna left-overs, so I heat that up and watch a little TV before bed-time.

Bella's POV

Maria didn't make a good first impression on me, although it was nice to see that Edward didn't act differently while she was around. Nessie was also just as friendly and sweet in front of Maria. It made me happy to see that Edward was raising his little girl not to be judgmental and bitchy or two-faced. I make a salad for dinner and then, after making a few phone-calls, I do a little work on the computer and go to bed around midnight.

The next morning, I take the time to set up for dinner. I don't want to be bothered while Edward and Nessie are here. So I set the table and prep the meal. I'm making chicken parmesan. I cut the salad and slice the mozzarella cheese. Once everything is ready to be cooked, I refrigerate the trays and drive to the nursing home where my dad lives to start the day. I really hope he remembers his daughter and son today…

Thanks for getting this done so quickly, hnwhitlock2000! You're the best!